2 Kishoreganj men go missing in waterbodies

A farmer and a tourist have gone missing after drowning in separate incidents in a river and a haor in Kishoreganj.

The incidents occurred on Friday, and neither had been rescued as of 1:30 pm on Saturday.

The missing persons are Siraj Morol, 60, of Bahadia village under Egarsindur Union in Pakundia upazila, and Shafiqul Islam Tulu, 28, of Kapasia upazila in Gazipur.

According to police and local residents, Siraj Morol, the muezzin of Bahadia Namabazar Jame Mosque, went missing on Friday morning after his boat capsized in the strong current while he was crossing the Brahmaputra River after cutting grass for his cattle.

In the other incident, Shafiqul Islam Tulu was visiting Nikli Haor with a 25-member tourist group on Friday. He went swimming in the Dampara-Kathalia Haor around noon and drowned.

Although two of his companions managed to swim to safety, Shafiqul remained missing.

Fire Service rescue teams launched operations following both incidents, but neither of the missing men had been found as of Saturday afternoon.

Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Pakundia Police Station, SM Arifur Rahman, said the rescue operation in the Brahmaputra River was being hampered by strong currents and sandbars. The search was continuing despite one of the divers falling ill.

Pakundia Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Rupam Das said the body of the missing farmer might have been swept away by the strong current. He added that nearby police stations, including those in Hossainpur and Kapasia, had been informed.

Nikli Police Station Officer-in-Charge Md. Mahbubur Rahman said a diving team from Bhairab conducted a rescue operation on Friday but failed to locate Shafiqul Islam. The search resumed on Saturday.